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National league reps hit back at Manohar

The National League Representatives (NLR) of the T&T Cricket Board (TTCB) has hit back at board member and former minister of Sports Manohar Ramsaran saying that he is trying to make a mockery of a very serious situation concerning the National Gas Company (NGC) audit on the local cricket board.

In a press release sent yesterday by the NLR which includes Dinanath Ramnarine, Daren Ganga, Giles Antoine, Anil Kamal, Clint Pamphille and Andre Lawrence, it is stated: “While serious concerns are being raised about the financial probity of the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) and its selected, instead of elected, directors, one of them is busy trying to turn a fiasco into a farce.”

The NLR is stating that: “The most important concern is that Ramsaran is trying to compare the TTCB with a Government Ministry in the ways funds are managed, especially funds from sponsors which are earmarked by the sponsor for specified and distinct purposes and which cannot be shifted or switched from one activity to another without the permission in writing of the sponsor.

“This is the point repeatedly made in the NGC audit of the mismanagement of its funds by the TTCB. In fact, the first desperate response from the TTCB when the details of the NGC audit went public was by the President Azim Bassarath himself, who vainly sought to deceive the public by falsely claiming that the document purported to be the NGC’s Audit was not authentic. Subsequently, the NGC repeatedly confirmed the validity of the document which Bassarath had questioned and made it clear that its action of withdrawing its sponsorship was its dissatisfaction with the management of its money among other things.”

The release also stated that only the TTCB executive had copies of the NGC contract and knew the terms, conditionalities, processes and proper procedures consistent with the wishes of the sponsor. The other members of the board according to them were denied copies or any information of what the contract included, entailed and required for proper performance as well as the cost of failure to comply.

“This is why they have not disputed any of the findings of the audit. The document is clear on what is appropriate and what is an inappropriate use of the NGC’s money. Given that Ramsaran’s smoke-screen is not working, our concerns are clear and lead to the following very pertinent questions which we hope that all stakeholders will work with us in demanding answers to from Bassarath, Ramsaran and the rest of the TTCB.”

The NLR is asking to TTCB to question where are these approvals in writing that the TTCB claims were received from the NGC? Why were the supposed "reallocations" hidden from the Board? Why is the executive dodging a meeting with the Board of the TTCB and is trying to hide behind the Minister of Sports? Are there other sponsorship contracts that were subject to the same "reallocations" without approval from the other sponsors? And is the president going to accede to a request for an independent forensic audit?